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The built environment that we live in today was largely shaped by Modernism. The buildings we inhabit, the chairs we sit on, the graphic design that surrounds us have all been influenced by the aesthetics and the ideology of Modernist design. But what was Modernism?

Modernism was not conceived as a style but a loose collection of ideas. It was a term that covered a range of movements in art, architecture, design and literature, which largely rejected the styles that came before it. The methodology flourished in Germany and Holland, as well as in Moscow, Paris, Prague and New York and was prominent in the years between the World Wars.

At the core of Modernism lay the idea that the world had to be fundamentally rethought. The carnage of the First World War and the Russian Revolution led to widespread utopian fervour, a belief that the human condition could be healed by new approaches to art and design. Focusing on the most basic elements of daily life - housing and furniture, domestic goods and clothes - architects and designers set out to reinvent these forms for a new century.

Architecture and social change
Europe had been ravaged by repressive political structures and glaring social inequalities. Tackling economic inequality became central to the Modernist agenda and many architects devoted their energies to housing. Affordable housing was one of the most urgent needs of the inter-war period. Designers and architects such as Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Erich Mendelsohn and Walter Gropius developed model housing estates in an attempt to resolve the housing crisis.

In their drive to transform society, Modernist architects set out to industrialise the building process. New construction techniques and the use of materials such as steel, concrete and glass would reduce costs and allow for mass-production.

Many artists and architects were intoxicated by the endless possibilities offered by science and technology. They envisaged a world entirely recreated in terms of the machine: everything from clothing to architecture, music to theatre. The house could be a 'machine for living in' and the task of art was 'not to adorn life but to organise it'.

Henry Ford's assembly lines had inspired the notion that mechanisation would eliminate wasted time and effort, provide high productivity, and help solve the ills of contemporary society. Industry became not only a means to an end, but also an aesthetic. Machines and machine parts were seen as models of functional, unselfconscious design, of beauty without ornament.

So what did Modernism look like? As a design principle Modernism promoted sleek, clean lines and eliminated decorative additions that were purely for the sake of embellishment. Out were the frilly fripperies of pre-war styles. This new world would take its cue from technology, factories, practicality and usefulness. Form would most certainly follow function.

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The built environment that we live in today was largely shaped by Modernism. The buildings we inhabit, the chairs we sit on, the graphic design that surrounds us have all been influenced by the aesthetics and the ideology of Modernist design. But what was Modernism?

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The Rise of Modernism

Modernism was a philosophical movement of the late 19th and early 20th centuries that was based on an underlying belief in the progress of society.

Learning Objectives

Summarize the ideas that constitute Modernism

Key Takeaways

Key Points

Among the factors that shaped modernism were the development of modern industrial societies and the rapid growth of cities, followed by the horror of World War I.

Modernism was essentially based on a utopian vision of human life and society and a belief in progress, or moving forward.

Modernist ideals pervaded art, architecture, literature, religious faith, philosophy, social organization, activities of daily life, and even the sciences.

In painting, modernism is defined by Surrealism, late Cubism, Bauhaus, De Stijl, Dada, German Expressionism, and Matisse as well as the abstractions of artists like Piet Mondrian and Wassily Kandinsky, which characterized the European art scene.

The end of modernism and beginning of postmodernism is a hotly contested issue, though many consider it to have ended roughly around 1940.

Modernism is a philosophical movement that, along with cultural trends and changes, arose from enormous transformations in Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Among the factors that shaped modernism were the development of modern industrial societies and the rapid growth of cities, followed by the horror of World War I.
Modernism was essentially based on a utopian vision of human life and society and a belief in progress, or moving forward. It assumed that certain ultimate universal principles or truths such as those formulated by religion or science could be used to understand or explain reality.

Modernist ideals were far-reaching, pervading art, architecture, literature, religious faith, philosophy, social organization, activities of daily life, and even the sciences. The poet Ezra Pound's 1934 injunction to "Make it new!" was the touchstone of the movement's approach towards what it saw as the now obsolete culture of the past. In this spirit, its innovations, like the stream-of-consciousness novel, atonal (or pantonal) and twelve-tone music, divisionist painting and abstract art, all had precursors in the 19th century.

In painting, during the 1920s and the 1930s and the Great Depression, modernism is defined by Surrealism, late Cubism, Bauhaus, De Stijl, Dada, German Expressionism, and Modernist and masterful color painters like Henri Matisse as well as the abstractions of artists like Piet Mondrian and Wassily Kandinsky, which characterized the European art scene. In Germany, Max Beckmann, Otto Dix, George Grosz, and others politicized their paintings, foreshadowing the coming of World War II, while in America, modernism is seen in the form of American Scene painting and the social realism and regionalism movements that contained both political and social commentary dominated the art world.

Modernism is defined in Latin America by painters Joaquín Torres García from Uruguay and Rufino Tamayo from Mexico, while the muralist movement with Diego Rivera, David Siqueiros, José Clemente Orozco, Pedro Nel Gómez, and Santiago Martinez Delgado, and Symbolist paintings by Frida Kahlo, began a renaissance of the arts for the region, characterized by a freer use of color and an emphasis on political messages. The end of modernism and beginning of postmodernism is a hotly contested issue, though many consider it to have ended roughly around 1940.

Post-Impressionism

Post-Impression refers to a genre that rejected the naturalism of Impressionism in favor of using color and form in more expressive manners.

Learning Objectives

Compare and contrast Post-Impressionist techniques with those of Impressionism

Key Takeaways

Key Points

Post-Impressionists extended the use of vivid colors, thick application of paint, distinctive brush strokes, and real-life subject matter, and were more inclined to emphasize geometric forms, distort forms for expressive effect, and to use unnatural or arbitrary colors in their compositions.

Although they were often exhibited together, Post-Impressionist artists were not in agreement concerning a cohesive movement, and younger painters in the early 20th century worked in geographically disparate regions and in various stylistic categories, such as Fauvism and Cubism.

The term " Post- Impressionism " was coined by the British artist and art critic Roger Fry in 1910, to describe the development of French art since Manet.

Key Terms

Post-Impressionism: (Art) a genre of painting that rejected the naturalism of impressionism, using color and form in more expressive manners.

Post-Impressionist: French art or artists belonging to a genre after Manet, which extended the style of Impressionism while rejecting its limitations; they continued using vivid colors, thick application of paint, distinctive brush strokes, and real-life subject matter, but they were more inclined to emphasize geometric forms, to distort form for expressive effect, and to use unnatural or arbitrary color.

post-and-lintel: A simple construction method using a header or architrave as the horizontal member over a building void (lintel) supported at its ends by two vertical columns or pillars (posts).

Move from Naturalism

Post-Impression refers to a genre of painting that rejected the naturalism of Impressionism, in favor of using color and form in more expressive manners. The term "Post-Impressionism" was coined by the British artist and art critic Roger Fry in 1910 to describe the development of French art since Manet. Post-Impressionists extended Impressionism while rejecting its limitations. For example, they continued using vivid colors, thick application of paint, distinctive brush strokes, and real-life subject matter, but they were also more inclined to emphasize geometric forms, distort forms for expressive effect, and to use unnatural or arbitrary colors in their compositions.

Significant Artists of Post-Impressionism

Post-Impressionism developed from Impressionism. From the 1880s onward, several artists, including Vincent Van Gogh, Paul Gauguin, Georges Seurat, and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, envisioned different precepts for the use of color, pattern, form, and line, deriving these new directions from the Impressionist example. These artists were slightly younger than the Impressionists, and their work contemporaneously became known as Post-Impressionism. Some of the original Impressionist artists also ventured into this new territory. Camille Pissarro briefly painted in a pointillist manner, and even Monet abandoned strict en plein air painting. Paul Cézanne, who participated in the first and third Impressionist exhibitions, developed a highly individual vision emphasizing pictorial structure; he is most often called a post-Impressionist. Although these cases illustrate the difficulty of assigning labels, the work of the original Impressionist painters may, by definition, be categorized as Impressionism.

A Diverse Search for Direction

The Post-Impressionists were dissatisfied with the triviality of subject matter and the loss of structure in Impressionist paintings, although they did not agree on the way forward. Georges Seurat and his followers, for instance, concerned themselves with Pointillism, the systematic use of tiny dots of color. Paul Cézanne set out to restore a sense of order and structure to painting by reducing objects to their basic shapes while retaining the bright fresh colors of Impressionism. Vincent van Gogh used vibrant colors and swirling brush strokes to convey his feelings and his state of mind. Hence, although they were often exhibited together, Post-Impressionist artists were not in agreement concerning a cohesive movement, and younger painters in the early 20th century worked in geographically disparate regions and in various stylistic categories, such as Fauvism and Cubism.

Cézanne

Cézanne was a French, Post-Impressionist painter whose work highlights the transition from the 19th century to the early 20th century.

Learning Objectives

Discuss the evolution and influence of Cézanne's style of painting during the Post-Impressionist movement

Key Takeaways

Key Points

Cézanne's early work is often concerned with the figure in the landscape, often depicting groups of large, heavy figures. In Cézanne's mature work there is a solidified, almost architectural style of painting. To this end, he structurally ordered his perceptions into simple forms and color planes.

This exploration rendered slightly different, yet simultaneous, visual perceptions of the same phenomena to provide the viewer with a different aesthetic experience.

Cezanne 's "Dark Period" from 1861-1870 contains works that are characterized by dark colors and the heavy use of black.

The lightness of his Impressionist works contrast sharply with the dramatic resignation found in his final period of productivity from 1898-1905. This resignation informs several still life paintings that depict skulls as their subject.

Key Terms

Cezanne: Paul Cézanne (1839-1906) was a French artist and Post-Impressionist painter whose work laid the foundations of the transition from the 19th century conception of artistic endeavour to a new and radically different world of art in the 20th century.

Impressionism: A 19th-century art movement that originated with a group of Paris-based artists. Impressionist painting characteristics include relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage of time), common, ordinary subject matter, inclusion of movement as a crucial element of human perception and experience, and unusual visual angles.

Post-Impressionism: (Art) a genre of painting that rejected the naturalism of impressionism, using color and form in more expressive manners.

Introduction

Paul Cézanne (1839-1906) was a French artist and Post- Impressionism painter whose work began the transition from the 19th century conception of artistic endeavor to a new and radically different world of art. Cézanne's often repetitive brushstrokes are highly characteristic and clearly recognizable. He used planes of color and small brushstrokes to form complex fields and convey intense study of his subjects.

Early Work

Cézanne's early work is often concerned with the figure in the landscape, often depicting groups of large, heavy figures. Later, he became more interested in working from direct observation, gradually developing a light, airy painting style. Nevertheless, in Cézanne's mature work, there is development of a solidified, almost architectural style of painting. To this end, he structurally ordered whatever he perceived into simple forms and color planes.

Cézanne was interested in the simplification of naturally occurring forms to their geometric essentials, wanting to "treat nature by the cylinder, the sphere, the cone." For example, a tree trunk may be conceived of as a cylinder and an apple or orange as a sphere. Additionally, his desire to capture the truth of perception led him to explore binocular graphic vision. This exploration rendered slightly different, yet simultaneous, visual perceptions of the same phenomena, providing the viewer with a different aesthetic experience of depth.

Dark Period

Cezanne's "Dark Period" in 1861-1870 was comprised of works that are characterized by dark colors and the heavy use of black. They differ sharply from his earlier watercolors and sketches at the École Spéciale de dessin at Aix-en-Provence in 1859. In 1866-67, inspired by the example of Courbet, Cézanne painted a series of paintings with a palette knife. He later called these works, mostly portraits, une couillarde (a coarse word for ostentatious virility). All in all, works of the Dark Period include several erotic or violent subjects.

After the start of the Franco-Prussian War in July 1870, Cézanne's canvases grew much brighter and more reflective of Impressionism. Cézanne moved between Paris and Provence, exhibiting in the first (1874) and third Impressionist shows (1877). In 1875, he attracted the attention of collector Victor Chocquet, whose commissions provided some financial relief. On the whole, however, Cézanne's exhibited paintings attracted hilarity, outrage, and sarcasm.

The lightness of his Impressionist works contrast sharply with his dramatic resignation in his final period of productivity from 1898-1905. This resignation informs several still life paintings that depict skulls as their subject.

Cézanne's explorations of geometric simplification and optical phenomena inspired Picasso, Braque, Gris, and others to experiment with ever more complex multiple views of the same subject. Cézanne thus sparked one of the most revolutionary areas of artistic enquiry of the 20th century, one which was to affect the development of modern art. A prize for special achievement in the arts was created in his memory. The "Cézanne medal" is granted by the French city of Aix en Provence.

Vorticism

Vorticism, an offshoot of Cubism, was a brief modernist movement in British art and poetry of the early 20th century.

Learning Objectives

Describe the short-lived Vorticism movement in Britain

Key Takeaways

Key Points

The movement of Vorticism rejected the typical landscapes and nudes popular at the time in favor of a geometric style tending towards abstraction.

The movement was announced in 1914 in its first issue of BLAST, Vorticism's official literary magazine, which declared the movement's manifesto.

Vorticism diverged from Cubism and Futurism. It tried to capture movement in an image. In Vorticist paintings, modern life is shown as an array of bold lines and harsh colors drawing the viewer 's eye to the center of the canvas.

Key Terms

Industrial Revolution: The major technological, socioeconomic, and cultural change in the late 18th and early 19th century when the economy shifted from one based on manual labor to one dominated by machine manufacture.

Vorticism: An offshoot of Cubism; a short-lived modernist movement in British art and poetry of the early 20th century, based in London but international in make-up and ambition.

Vorticism was a brief modernist movement in British art and poetry during the early 20th century. It was based in London but was international in make-up and ambition. As a movement, Vorticism rejected the typical landscapes and nudes of the time in favor of a geometric style tending towards abstraction.

The Vorticism group began with the Rebel Art Centre established by Wyndham Lewis as a break with other traditional schools, and had its intellectual and artistic roots in the Bloomsbury Group, Cubism, and Futurism. Lewis saw Vorticism as an independent alternative to Cubism, Futurism, and Expressionism. Though the style grew out of Cubism, it is more closely related to Futurism in its embrace of dynamism, the machine age, and all things modern. However, Vorticism diverged from both Cubism and Futurism in the way it tried to capture movement in an image. In Vorticist paintings, modern life is shown as an array of bold lines and harsh colors drawing the viewer's eye to the center of the canvas.

The Vorticists published two issues of the literary magazine BLAST, edited by Lewis, in June 1914 and July 1915. It contained work by Ezra Pound, T. S. Eliot, and by the Vorticists themselves. Its typographical adventurousness was cited by El Lissitzky as one of the major forerunners of the revolution in graphic design in the 1920s and 1930s.

Paintings and sculpture shown at the Rebel Art Centre in 1914, before the formation of the Vorticist Group, were considered "experimental work" by Lewis, Wadsworth, Shakespear and others, who used angular simplification and abstraction in their paintings. This work was contemporary with and comparable to abstraction by continental European artists such as Kandinski, František Kupka, and the Russian Rayist Group. The Vorticists held only one official exhibition in 1915 at the Doré Gallery in London. After this, the movement broke up, largely due to the onset of World War I and public apathy towards their work.

Symbolism

Symbolism was a late 19thcentury art movement of French, Russian, and Belgian origin.

Learning Objectives

Discuss Symbolism's use of artwork as a search for absolute truths

Key Takeaways

Key Points

Symbolism was largely a reaction against naturalism and realism, anti-idealistic styles that were attempts to represent reality in its gritty particularity, and to elevate the humble and the ordinary over the ideal. Symbolism, on the other hand, favored spirituality, the imagination, and dreams.

Symbolists believed that art should represent absolute truths that could only be described indirectly. Thus, they wrote and painted in a very metaphorical and suggestive manner, endowing particular images or objects with symbolic meaning.

Symbolist artists stressed the power of personal subjectivity, emotions and feelings rather than any reliance on realism to suggest larger truths.

Symbolism expressed scenes from nature, human activities, and all other real world phenomena that are not depicted for their own sake, but rather as perceptible surfaces created to represent their esoteric affinities with primordial ideals.

Key Terms

symbolism: Symbolism was a late 19th century art movement of French, Russian and Belgian origin in poetry and other arts. Symbolism is the practice of representing things by symbols, or of investing things with a symbolic meaning or character. A symbol is an object, action, or idea that represents something other than itself, often of a more abstract nature. Symbolism creates quality aspects that make literature like poetry and novels more meaningful.

A Move Toward Meaning

Symbolism was a late 19th century art movement of French, Russian, and Belgian origin that manifested in poetry and other arts. The term "symbolism" is derived from the word "symbol" which comes from the Latin symbolum, a symbol of faith, and symbolus, a sign of recognition. Symbolism was largely a reaction against naturalism and realism, anti-idealistic styles that were attempts to represent reality in its gritty particularity, and to elevate the humble and the ordinary over the ideal. Symbolism, on the other hand, favored spirituality, the imagination, dreams, emotions, and the personal subjectivity of the artist as a tool to illustrate larger truths. Thematically, Symbolist artists tended to focus on themes surrounding the occult, decadence, melancholy, and death.

A Search for Hidden Truth

Symbolists believed that art should represent absolute truths that could only be described indirectly. Thus, they wrote and painted in a very metaphorical and suggestive manner, endowing particular images or objects with symbolic meaning. Jean Moréas published The Symbolist Manifesto (" Le Symbolisme ") in Le Figaro on 18 September 1886 (see 1886 in poetry). Moréas announced that symbolism was hostile to "plain meanings, declamations, false sentimentality, and matter-of-fact description," and that its goal was to "clothe the Ideal in a perceptible form " whose "goal was not in itself, but whose sole purpose was to express the Ideal." In other words, symbolism expressed scenes from nature, human activities, and all other real world phenomena not for their own sake, but as perceptible surfaces created to represent their esoteric affinities with primordial ideals.

The symbolist style has frequently been confused with decadence and, by the late 1880s, the terms "symbolism" and "decadence" were understood to be almost synonymous. Though the aesthetics of the styles can be considered similar in some ways, the two remain distinct. The symbolists emphasized dreams, ideals, and fantastical subject matter, while the Decadents cultivated précieux, ornamented, or hermetic styles, and morbid subject matters. The symbolist painters were an important influence on expressionism and surrealism in painting, two movements that descend directly from symbolism proper.

The harlequins, paupers, and clowns of Pablo Picasso 's "Blue Period" show the influence of symbolism, and especially of Puvis de Chavannes. In Belgium, symbolism became so popular that it came to be thought of as a national style: the static strangeness of painters like René Magritte can be considered as a direct continuation of symbolism. The work of some symbolist visual artists, such as Jan Toorop, directly affected the curvilinear forms of art nouveau.

Art Nouveau

Art Nouveau was an international style of art and architecture that was most popular from 1890-1910.

Learning Objectives

Describe the origins and characteristics of Art Noveau

Key Takeaways

Key Points

Art Nouveau was an international style of art and architecture that was most popular from 1890-1910. The name "Art Nouveau" is French for "new art." The origins of Art Nouveau are found in the resistance of the artist William Morris to the cluttered compositions and the revival tendencies of the 19th century.

A reaction to academic art of the 19th century, Art Nouveau was inspired by natural forms and structures, exemplified by curved lines, asymmetry, natural motifs, and intricate embellishment.

Art Nouveau is considered a "total style," meaning that it pervaded many forms of art and design such as architecture, interior design, the decorative arts, and the visual arts. According to the philosophy of the style, art should strive to be a way of life.

Key Terms

Art Nouveau: Art Nouveau is an international philosophy and style of art, architecture, and applied art-especially the decorative arts-that was most popular during 1890-1910.

japonisme: The influence of Japanese art and culture on European art.

syncopated: A variety of music rhythms that come unexpected.

Background

Art Nouveau is an international style of art and architecture that was most popular from 1890-1910 AD. The name Art Nouveau is French for "new art." A reaction to academic art of the 19th century, it was inspired by natural forms and structures, not only in flowers and plants, but also in curved lines. It is also considered a philosophy of furniture design. Art Nouveau furniture is structured according to the whole building and made part of ordinary life. Art Nouveau was most popular in Europe, but its influence was global. It is a very varied style with frequent localized tendencies.

Before the term Art Nouveau became common in France, le style moderne ("the modern style") was the more frequent designation. Maison de l'Art Nouveau was the name of the gallery initiated during 1895 by the German art dealer Samuel Bing in Paris that featured exclusively modern art. The fame of his gallery was increased at the 1900 Exposition Universelle, where he presented coordinated installations of modern furniture, tapestries and objets d'art. These decorative displays became so strongly associated with the style, that the name of his gallery subsequently provided a commonly used term for the entire style. Likewise, Jugend (Youth) was the illustrated weekly magazine of art and lifestyle of Munich, founded in 1896 by Georg Hirth. Jugend was instrumental in promoting the Art Nouveau style in Germany. As a result, Jungenstil, or Youth Style, became the German word for the style.

Origins of Art Nouveau

The origins of Art Nouveau are found in the resistance of the artist William Morris to the cluttered compositions and revivalist tendencies of the 19th century. His theories helped initiate the Art Nouveau movement. About the same time, the flat perspective and strong colors of Japanese wood block prints, especially those of Katsushika Hokusai, had a strong effect on the formulation of Art Nouveau. The Japonisme that was popular in Europe during the 1880s and 1890s was particularly influential on many artists with its organic forms and references to the natural world.

Although Art Nouveau acquired distinctly localized tendencies as its geographic spread increased, some general characteristics are indicative of the form. A description published in Pan magazine of Hermann Obrist's wall hanging Cyclamen (1894), described it as "sudden violent curves generated by the crack of a whip," which became well known during the early spread of Art Nouveau. Subsequently, the term "whiplash" is frequently applied to the characteristic curves employed by Art Nouveau artists. Such decorative "whiplash" motifs, formed by dynamic, undulating, and flowing lines in a syncopated rhythm, are found throughout the architecture, painting, sculpture, and other forms of Art Nouveau design.

Art Nouveau as a Total Style

Art Nouveau is now considered a "total style," meaning that it can be seen in architecture, interior design, decorative arts (including jewelry furniture, textiles, household silver, and other utensils and lighting), and the visual arts. According to the philosophy of the style, art should strive to be a way of life, and thereby encompass all parts. For many Europeans, it was possible to live in an Art Nouveau-inspired house with Art Nouveau furniture, silverware, crockery, jewelry, cigarette cases, etc. Artists thus desired to combine the fine arts and applied arts, even for utilitarian objects.

Art Nouveau in architecture and interior design eschewed the eclectic revival styles of the 19th century. Art Nouveau designers selected and "modernized" some of the more abstract elements of Rococo style, such as flame and shell textures. They also advocated the use of very stylized organic forms as a source of inspiration, expanding their natural repertoire to use seaweed, grasses, and insects.

In Art Nouveau painting, two-dimensional pieces were drawn and printed in popular forms such as advertisements, posters, labels, and magazines. Japanese wood-block prints, with their curved lines, patterned surfaces, contrasting voids, and flatness of visual plane, also inspired Art Nouveau painting. Some line and curve patterns became graphic clichés that were later found in works of artists from many parts of the world.

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Modernism was a philosophical movement of the late 19th and early 20th centuries that was based on an underlying belief in the progress of society. Summarize the ideas that constitute Modernism Key Points Among the factors that shaped modernism were the development of modern industrial societies and the rapid growth of cities, followed by the horror of World War I.

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Avant-garde is originally a French term, meaning in English vanguard or advance guard (the part of an army that goes forward ahead of the rest). It first appeared with reference to art in France in the first half of the nineteenth century, and is usually credited to the influential thinker Henri de Saint-Simon, one of the forerunners of socialism. He believed in the social power of the arts and saw artists, alongside scientists and industrialists, as the leaders of a new society. In 1825 he wrote:

We artists will serve you as an avant-garde, the power of the arts is most immediate: when we want to spread new ideas we inscribe them on marble or canvas. What a magnificent destiny for the arts is that of exercising a positive power over society, a true priestly function and of marching in the van [i.e. vanguard] of all the intellectual faculties!

The beginning of the avant-garde

Avant-garde art can be said to begin in the 1850s with the realism of Gustave Courbet, who was strongly influenced by early socialist ideas. This was followed by the successive movements of modern art, and the term avant-garde is more or less synonymous with modern.

Some avant-garde movements such as cubism for example have focused mainly on innovations of form, others such as futurism, De Stijl or surrealism have had strong social programmes.

The development of the avant-garde

Although the term avant-garde was originally applied to innovative approaches to art making in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, it is applicable to all art that pushes the boundaries of ideas and creativity, and is still used today to describe art that is radical or reflects originality of vision.

The notion of the avant-garde enshrines the idea that art should be judged primarily on the quality and originality of the artist's vision and ideas.

Movers and shakers

Because of its radical nature and the fact that it challenges existing ideas, processes and forms; avant-garde artists and artworks often go hand-in-hand with controversy. Read the captions of the artworks below to find out about the shock-waves they caused.

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Avant-garde is originally a French term, meaning in English vanguard or advance guard (the part of an army that goes forward ahead of the rest). It first appeared with reference to art in France in the first half of the nineteenth century, and is usually credited to the influential thinker Henri de Saint-Simon, one of the forerunners of socialism.

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The 20th century saw a new era of visual artists who challenged the precedent art styles. Beauty and aesthetics gave way to abstraction, expression, and symbolism. This metamorphosis formed numerous distinct and important art movements which presented a new type of aesthetic, some of which overlap with or influenced others. Below is a broad overview of the most influential visual art movements during the 20th century, excluding some of those shorter-lived or lesser-known.

Fauvism, taken from the term les fauves meaning "wild beasts" in French, refers to the early 20th-century art movement characterized by the divergence from the representation in impressionism in favor of abstract painting techniques. In particular, Fauvism rejected the soft, pastel color palette of impressionism and opted for bold coloration. This revolutionized the use of color and subject distortion in modern art.

Known artists: Henri Matisse, André Derain

Expressionism (~1905-1920)

Expressionism was an avant-garde style that began in Germany in the early 20th century and can be characterized by evocative and emotional pieces that are typically abstract. The use of traditional representation was discarded in favor of communicating the emotion or meaning behind the work. This use of thematic rather than literal expression revolutionized Western visual art and became an antecedent for many other 20th-century movements.

Known artists: Edvard Munch, Egon Schiele, Paul Klee, Wassily Kandinsky,

Cubism (1907-1914)

Cubism is regarded as one of the most influential movements in 20th-century art and is known for its reduction of subjects into geometric or 'cube-like' shapes to produce a more three-dimensional perspective. The movement can be divided into two stages: Analytical Cubism and Synthetic Cubism. Early Cubism (Analytical) works are typically more severe and monochromatic with tones of black and grey, whereas later Cubism (Synthetic) works feature bolder colors and the incorporation of external elements for collage.

Known artists: Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque, Paul Cézanne, Juan Gris

Futurism (1909-1914)

Futurism was founded by poet Filippo Tommaso Marinetti in Milan in the early 20th century. Like its predecessors, Futurism emphasized abstraction and nontraditional representation. It valued speed, viscerality, youth, and modernity and acted as a form of Italian liberation from its fraught history. Although founded in Italy, its influence also spread to other European countries.

Known artists: Umberto Boccioni, Giacomo Balla, Carlo Carrà, Gino Severini

Dada was developed during World War I in Zurich as an avant-garde, anti-art movement. It rejected and mocked the capitalist and nationalistic cultural climate of World War I, focusing instead on the irrational, nonsensical, and absurd with strong anti-bourgeois overtones. The movement spread throughout Europe and the United States, echoing far-left radical thought and the overall discontentment with the violence of wartime.

Known artists: Man Ray, Marcel Duchamp, Hans Arp, Hannah Höch, Tristan Tzara

Surrealism (1924-1966)

Highly influenced by Sigmund Freud and psychoanalysis, Surrealism sought expression through the exploration of the unconscious mind. Its imagery was characterized by unsettling, dreamlike settings with juxtaposing and often deformed subject matter. Having developed from the avant-garde Dada movement, Surrealism began in Europe and expanded throughout the Western world as a cultural, artistic, and literary movement.

Known artists: André Breton, Salvador Dalí, Max Ernst, Frida Kahlo, Rene Magritte

Abstract Expressionism (1943-1965)

Emerging in post-World War II New York, Abstract Expressionism was the first major international art movement to originate in the United States rather than Europe. It draws from Surrealist automatism and focuses on the abstraction of subject matter. Its style is characterized by brash, chaotic brushstrokes and bold pops of color. As a postwar movement, it is also an important antecedent for subsequent postmodernist art styles.

Known artists: Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, Mark Rothko, Franz Kline

Pop Art (1950s-70s)

Pop art rose to prominence in the United States and the United Kingdom during the 1950s and 1960s, taking inspiration from elements of mass media and popular culture. Pieces often featured juxtaposed or inconsistent elements from comic books, magazines, and advertisements, placed together to emphasize the banality of popular culture. Often ironic or satirical, pop art aimed to subvert traditional 'fine art.'

Known artists: Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol, Keith Haring, Edward Hopper, Robert Indiana

Minimalism emerged in New York in the 1960s in a continuation as the precedent diversion from traditional "high art." Instead of luxury, beauty, and expression, minimalism focused on brutal, geometric shapes, muted colors, and anonymity. Most elements of biography or emotion were removed from minimalist art, drawing attention to the simplicity of the shape itself as the subject.

Known artists: Donald Judd, Yayoi Kasuma, Carl Andre, Frank Stella, Piet Mondrian

Postmodernism (1980s-current)

Postmodernism cannot be characterized by definitive elements. Rather, it can be described as a general divergence from modernism that incorporates other 20th-century art movements, including conceptual art and Neo-expressionism.

While modernism focused on idealism and upholding core beliefs, postmodernism proposed skepticism, cynicism, and antiauthoritarianism. It is a highly conceptual, self-aware combination of other art styles, theory, and media to create a complex and multifaceted movement.

Known artists: Jeff Koons, Claes Oldenburg, Barbara Kruger

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A Brief Timeline of 20th Century Visual Art Movements

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A comprehensive list of the most well-known visual art movements during the 20th century, spanning two world wars and several cultural revolutions.

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Genius of the Modern World Karl Marx Episode 1 of 3

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BBC - Genius of the Modern World (Part 2of3) Nietzsche

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Anthony Domestico is an assistant professor of literature at Purchase College, SUNY and the books columnist for Commonweal. His book, Poetry and Theology in the Modernist Period​​, is forthcoming from Johns Hopkins University Press. You can view his Purchase College faculty page here, and his website containing his book reviews and essays here.

Categories: Tags: Uncategorized Anthony Domestico, Biography

by Michael Shapiro In Roger Fry-the last book she saw to publication-Virginia Woolf experiments with the structure and style of biography. She exercises editorial control to burnish the occasionally imperfect life of her subject and, by implication, to smooth over public critiques of the Bloomsbury group. Fry (1866-1934) was an English artist and art scholar,... Continue Reading Roger Fry: A Biography

Categories: Other Modernist Figures, Virginia Woolf

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Anthony Domestico is an assistant professor of literature at Purchase College, SUNY and the books columnist for Commonweal. His book, Poetry and Theology in the Modernist Period​​, is forthcoming from Johns Hopkins University Press. You can view his Purchase College faculty page here, and his website containing his book reviews and essays here.